Two books have me fired up right now.

One Body by Sam Halverson was passed along to me in a stack of books about family ministry. There are almost as many words underlined in blue ink (my signature ink color) than there are black-inked words in the book. I had to rein in my blue ink. Sam is an elder in the United Methodist Church who leads a North Georgia local church with a bent to integrate children and youth into the life of the WHOLE church. He articulately explains the slow fade to silos of the last decades’ church growth model built around charismatic leaders and attractional events. His onramps for youth (and I’ll include children) into the life of the church are not just to look cute and sing a song in worship occasionally, nor just serve a breakfast and set up/take down tables for a big church event. It’s all about time and space to build intergenerational relationships.

Children and youth learn best how to love Jesus and commit to the Christian community by spending time with adults who love Jesus and are committed to Christian community. Where are we guaranteed to be in Christian community? The local church! Sam invites us to look beyond paying a young adult to be our kid’s Christian event coordinator and Christian friend. Rather, let’s empower the director of children and youth ministries to make space and intentional invitation for the intergenerational congregation with onramps to, as we claim in our baptismal vows, so order our lives after the example of Christ that this child, surrounded by steadfast love, may be ESTABLISHED IN THE FAITH AND CONFIRMED AND STRENGTHENED in the way that leads to LIFE ETERNAL. (emphasis mine)

How’s that working for you?

Sam explains that when we hire leaders of family ministry outside the denomination, these leaders don’t know how the denomination views the body of Christ. They certainly don’t have time to include that framework in their first year learning curve of database, community, personalities, and room reservations. They might not know how music should be so diverse as to articulate our faith story and our faith history. 

As Michayla White, CEO of International Network of Children’s Ministry, reminded the church innovators at the 2022 Exponential Conference for church innovators, the Deuteronomy 6 passage we throw at parents all the time is the marching orders of an entire nation (body of believers), to teach God’s commands to the children and talk about them as you go, bind them on your hands, and write them on your doorposts.

How’s that working for you?

Sam does a fabulous job of reporting the obstacles we face, but also the many ways to live into our Christian adoption in our commission to make disciples of all nations (and ages) for the transformation of the world (in it for the long haul). When we live into adoption, some become children and some become parents. All of us!

Which brings me to the second book: Sailboat Church by Joan S. Gray. Joan is a teaching elder living in Atlanta of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) She explains rowboat churches as doing what they can with the resources they have. A rowboat church dismisses any spiritual realities and functions in the belief that the ultimate responsibility for everything rests on us. Instead, a sailboat church tends to focus not on their own situation, resources, or limitations but rather on discerning God’s unfolding will. They engage in intimate partnership with God, trusting God to provide and do what only God can do.

Sailboat churches train sailors who can navigate their way into God’s will. There is so much good to chew on and live into in this little book, but what jumped off the page was a bit about two things which consistently block God: the need for control and the need for comfort. Adopting a posture of sacrifice, of letting go, in these two areas will go a long way in helping the church set sail. (pg 55)

The struggle to control isn’t with malice, but rather a dismissive and disregard for creatives on the steering crew. Where in your local church is traction tended, taught, and energy happening where organizational goals are being met in creative and sailboat ‘led by the Spirit’ ways? Are those leaders invited to the table for ideation or treated with a pat on the head with a ‘You do you, Boo. We’ve got this’? 

The other element to sacrifice is that of comfort. We all have our personal routines aka taking the summer off, zoning out at staff meetings until I get to talk about my area, having an opinion for every area of the church as the expert on absolutely everything, speaking/guarding things for others so they aren’t uncomfortable, keeping information to myself and not sharing it for the good of the whole body, unopen to negotiation and unwilling to see the value of changing something up for a bit, etc.

Today I choose to come to every table with a spirit of YES and trust God’s provision He’s given everything needed to accomplish the goals He’s set. I want to move to CATCH the wind and in a state of anxious expectation the Holy Spirit is alive and active in our midst. I want to live in a state of risk and imagination for the whole body to proclaim the truth of the gospel to the parish the Lord has called me to serve. And I’m taking people with me to work and power that sailboat as God sees fit because we’re better together, one body, rethinking and pioneering the practices that will invite others on this very uncontrolled and uncomfortable ride. Our great God is trustworthy! Who’s in?

“I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, than in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare, unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation. This is the work which I know God has called me to. And sure I am that His blessing attends it.” – John Wesley

“Thank you for investing in me as a professional Christian educator and as a sister in Christ. Thank you for providing the means and support for continuing education so that we are always serving at our best.” This is the text I sent to some members of our church’s Staff Parish Relations Committee and my supervisor the week I gathered with other professional Christian educators for an online conference I shared with other kidmin leaders.

If ever there was a time to model Christian community and deep dive into learning the best practices for reaching our community for Jesus, this is it. Travel days at the beginning and end of a conference invite us to share how and what we offer the families we serve. We talk about curriculum, special events, and tell stories of God’s faithfulness among our families and our community. We laugh, we snack, we get caught up in one another’s lives in faithful Christian community. We visit sacred spaces along the way. We laugh our heads off. (The picture above is of the Augusta Wesley Foundation’s worship space in downtown Augusta)

We work together to prepare and share meals, we chat about books we’ve read, people we’ve met, and which blogs/podcasts we are gleaning from to be catalysts for organizational health, to be better teachers and team members. We talk ministry in the local church 24/7. Really. 24/7. If we’re awake, we talk about Jesus and how we’re living a disciple’s life. We share struggles. We pray. 

The online conference provides the content and direction of conversations and ideas for how to roll out the best information in our contexts. We push back and wrestle some stuff to the ground. We stay at the table.

When the conference content is finished for the day, it’s time to process what we heard. We take care of our bodies (bike rides and coffee…more table life) and talk through the best of what we can take home to steward the ministry and families to the next level which may prove effective, relevant, developmentally appropriate in partnership with the families and staff team we serve.

So many holy habits practiced (prayer, Bible reading, serving, worship, learning, giving testimony, Christian community) as we model and live a disciple’s life in Christian community alongside other faithful disciples.

At the 2022 Children’s Pastors Conference we chose the online platform offered. CPC+ is presented by the amazing disciples at INCM, International Network of Children’s Ministry.  The online platform was less expensive for registration, housing, and transportation in good budget stewardship this year for several of us in February while other colleagues were able to participate at the in-person event in January. 

We’ve planned a CPC Recap event to share with our family ministry colleagues this week about bummer lambs, evangelism in any environment, tools to invite, incite, and equip families, as well as toolbelt tools to fight spiritual warfare and the differences in offering Bible knowledge and Bible wisdom for littles today. That was just the first day! In-person and online participants will be sharing at the recap hosted by an Alpharetta local church kidmin team for we are better together.

At the Child Discipleship Summit in Charleston two weeks later, we worked in small groups on how and why we must advance our maps for church growth of edu-tainment to the ‘twin cities’ of faithfulness and lasting faith as we fight secularism and teach our kids their truest identity is as a child of God. This room of leaders are pushing the doors and windows to lead littles into a radical pursuit of God, the total annihilation of idols, the resetting of altars in the home, at church, and in the community, wholehearted obedience to God’s Word, and the restoration of redemptive practices. We are missionaries in a land hostile to the things of God! Let’s draw new maps together.

The more I’ve chatted with others about what I’ve learned, the easier it is to bring a lot of great content into chewable pieces to implement and filter in my context. The Lord is setting the table today for what effective discipleship looks like, sounds like, smells like, and feels like in 2030 and beyond. I’ll bring a folding chair to the table the Lord is setting if I have to.

What are you learning? How are you processing what’s coming into your brain and getting lit up by the fire of your Holy Spirit? What’s the barrier for family discipleship in your context? What could be the greatest accelerator for family discipleship? 

“You can hold confetti and kleenex at the same time.” – Michayla White, CEO, INCM, CPC+2022

“Our children will look back on their childhood and find we created a lukewarm church. We’ve been asleep at the wheel.” – Rev. Jon Tyson, Child Discipleship Summit 2022

Staff-Parish Committees work overtime when staff teams shift. Local churches are paddling like ducks below the surface with remote staffing, the Great Resignation, and families shifting to be closer to their loved ones. Including the children’s ministry leader early on in the search for a youth/student leader or weekday preschool director would be of great benefit to a local church’s organizational health.   Those who lead littles and not-so-littles serve the same families, share much of the same spaces, require coordinating calendars of special events with the same leaders, and overlap in developmentally appropriate discipleship for entire families. How they work together can make or break a discipleship pathway, and do unnecessary harm or incredible good to a local church staff culture.

This we know: 

• If someone is applying for a professional position in a local church, it’s a given he/she loves the Lord, is in love with His Word, and desires to set the table for spiritual growth for those they serve.
• We have an enemy who will do his darndest to mess that up. 

How the table is set for the start of a great relationship between the kidmin lead and the youth or preschool/nursery leads would include inquiries to how people work, how people learn, what sucks the life out of someone, and how people feel appreciated.

If I were invited to be on the search team, I’d ask questions that related to their systems, logistics, communication, tools, their experience in sharing spaces, accessibility, budgets, and Safe Sanctuary. These are the items that can make or break a working relationship. The hard reality is that the lovely folks who make up the search team are not the folks the new hire will work alongside day in and day out. 

If I were invited to the table early on I would ask…..

What jobs did you do before going into professional ministry?
What tools do you use to communicate with leaders? Students? Parents?
What tools do you use to set your personal calendar?
How far in advance do you calendar? Communicate an event?
How do parents fit into your idea of ministry?
How does children’s ministry fit into your idea of ministry?
What ticks you off? (pet peeve?)
What blogs and podcasts are your first choices? (invite him/her to pull out his/her phone)
How do you learn to be a better director/leader?
How do you network with other directors/leaders in your profession?
What do you know about us/this organization?
Tell us about your ministry/professional friends.
What are your thoughts on Safe Sanctuary?
How do you get your worship on?
What do you do when you’re frustrated?
How do you celebrate a win in ministry?
Tell about a time you had to get something done even though it wasn’t your responsibility.
Would you consider yourself to have a strong work ethic? Share about a time you had to go over and above in a work situation.
What is your least favorite thing about leading in your ministry? What is your favorite?
Tell about the best boss you ever worked for? Best kidmin lead you ever served alongside? Best ministry partner?
When is your Sabbath?
Tell about your youth leader when you were in middle/high school.
Tell about the small group you are involved in right now.
What continuing education do you engage in?
What was a recent small group study you took?
What did you do during the quarantine?
How you do ministry today, why did you set it up that way? (middle & high together; middle with high)
What are your thoughts about Confirmation? (for student leaders)
What is your favorite season of ministry?
Tell about a time you got into trouble.
What is a favorite scripture passage to teach from?
What time do you typically wake up in the morning? Go to bed? Early riser? Night owl?
Tell about a time you had a major win in ministry.
What is your family tradition for Christmas Eve?
How do you feel appreciated at work?
What is your favorite board/card game you play right now?
What do you wish you knew when you started in ministry that you know now?
Tell about a couple of your dearest volunteers where you currently serve?
How do you serve as a volunteer today?
What do you want to be known for?
How often do you meet with a mentor?
What is the best way to communicate with you?
What have you learned about leading others through the last 18 months?

I want to be in his/her corner, not just in their circle. I hope they have questions for us. For me. Candidates for professional staff should have lots of questions for us, too. They are interviewing us as a team as much as we are interviewing them. I’d expect them to come prepared. I’d also expect the challenge of more than one candidate so those new on a search team have something to compare. Otherwise, everyone who loves the Lord is ‘impressive’ and there’s not an opportunity to adequately discern the ‘best candidate’ to take the organization to the next level.  Ministry is work and it’s the best work you can do with a healthy, collaborative and innovative team sharing the journey well from the get-go.

How a team works together and appreciates one another can make or break a local church’s impact on the community. It all starts with relationships of honor, trust, consideration, and safety. Let our yes be yes and our no be no as faithful disciples who serve a great God.

Children’s Ministry people share. It’s part of our DNA to help each other. With the blessing of a great innovative collaborator, Devin Gordon, the following includes the goodies from our 2021 Grinchy Christmas Eve service. 

The goal of our Children’s Christmas Eve service is for children to participate and not perform, serve and not sit, and engage in conversations and sticky faith-formation memories on Jesus’ birthday as a family. As every leader, speaker enters and exits, he/she walks to the manger positioned at the center of the congregation seats, touches the manger, lingers a bit, and exits. No matter what takes place in the whole space, our eyes must always come back to the manger. 

A dress rehearsal for blocking two nights before with a popcorn bar to get rid of the grumbly tummies, song practice in Sunday morning large group since November along with the previous Monday night’s Christmas caroling (Faith Field trip), borrowing some of the set materials from Spirit of Dance’s Christmas recital backdrops from several year’s back (What’s in our hands?), and recruitment for serving in early October, Whoville opened at 4:20pm, the program started at 4:45pm and was finished at 5:30pm.

IN SEATS UPON ARRIVAL

• Candy canes
• Song sheets with QRcode for registration on back
• Candles for Silent Night
• Reindeer headbands on backs of random seats
• Squishy red heart

PRESERVICE

4:20-4:40 Stations

• Bakery – white petit fours
• Hot Chocolate & Ice water station – 4 oz cups with lids
• Lime green pipe cleaners – child directed bending, chatting
• Missions drop off for diapers (quads) and socks (Mountain Top Boy’s Home)
• Heart station – write names of family members on white, green, red hearts and clothespin to jumbo frame
• Heart ornament station – fill plastic hearts with precut pipe cleaners

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

As the Assistant to the Mayor-Under-Secretary, I do hereby welcome everyone to our Christmas Eve Family Service at the John Newton McEachern Memorial United Methodist Church here in Whoville.  

We are so honored you are here, and we know this will be a night of great joy and celebration of all that Christmas means to each of our families. And for that, I present to you:

A Christmas Eve Proclamation for the Town of Whoville on this 24th day of December in the year of our Lord 2021… 

WHEREAS we have waited for this Christmas Eve for an entire year…

WHEREAS we have dressed up and cooked up and driven up and rallied up to celebrate the birth of Jesus our Savior since He came from Heaven to earth more than 2000 years ago and is coming back…

WHEREAS you’ll find in your celebration seats candles for candle lighting, song sheets for singing, and candy canes for a game later in the evening…

WHEREAS you are cordially invited to move and sing loud for all to hear….

WHEREAS we ask you to take out your phones and record your attendance in the Whoville Census by scanning the QR Code on the back of your song sheet…

We DO HEREBY declare it is time for the Whoville shops to close so that all the Whos and our guests have time to settle into their celebration seats as we begin the evening’s festivities.

5 MINUTE TRANSITION

4:45PM – What a wonderful thing that Christmas Eve Whoville festivities are all back on again this year, after missing last, given the rampant outbreak of Corona-Who.  But Corona-Who cannot stop the LOVE of Christmas nor the reason we celebrate the season. 

• Christmas Joy is again in the air!

• We will be joined shortly by our Whoville Boomwhacker Brigade who will kick off our festivities with a rousing number.  

• But first, a prayer from Ruby-Lee-Who. 

OPENING PRAYER – by student Ruby-Lee-Who

RECORDED NARRATION #1

Well, every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas Eve a lot . . .
But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, Did NOT! 
The Grinch hated Christmas Eve! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all,
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

But, whatever the reason, his heart or his shoes,
He stood there on Christmas Eve, just hating the Whos.
Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown,
At the stained glass church windows below in their town.
For he knew every Who down in Whoville below
Was getting dressed in their best – to church they would go.

Then he growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming,
He had to find some way to stop Christmas Eve from coming!
Oh, for in just a few short hours he knew,
All the Who girls and boys would show up in the pews.
With their families they would gather together to pray,
Celebrating the joy of a special birthday.
The boomwhackers, the candles and donations of toys!
And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
That’s one thing he hated!
The NOISE!

And then they’d do something he liked least of all! 
Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing.
They’d stand hand‑in‑hand, and the Whos would start singing! 

And the more the Grinch thought of this Who Christmas Eve Sing,
The more the Grinch thought I must stop this whole thing!
Why, for fifty‑three years I’ve put up with it now!
I MUST stop this Christmas Eve from coming! . . . But HOW?
Then he got an idea! An awful idea!
The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea!
He decided to steal Christmas Eve!

BOOMWHACKER BRIGADE – Silly Jingle Bells (3x)

RECORDED NARRATION #2

The Whos were all dressed, and ready to go,
They jumped in the car to drive through fresh fallen snow.
On the way to church on Christmas Eve,
Every Who down in Whoville had only one place to be!
Joy and excitement filled the air,
Except on Mount Crumpet – there was no joy there. 
The Grinch long ago snuffed out any joy to be found,
As he greeted any visitors with a scowl and a frown.

As they drove by the mountain, all gloomy and dark.
one precious little Who had an idea that just sparked!
She couldn’t understand why the Grinch hated Christmas Eve,
The celebration at McEachern, you wouldn’t believe!
The lighting of candles and carols they would sing,
All, to celebrate the birth of a King!
She knew if Grinch knew the true meaning of the day,
Not even his grumpies could keep him away!
As she sat there with her fingers happily drumming,
she launched her own special plan as her heartstrings were strumming.
As they parked at the church to begin the celebration,
Cindy Lou Who went into action to address the situation.
She hopped from the car and told her parents to hold tight,
Then she sprinted towards mount crumpet with a very special invite!

ADVENT CANDLE – (Updated to be Seussical, read with great joy and whimsy)

Reader One: On Christmas Eve, this candle we light. In the midst of the darkness, we provide something bright. But can one small candle send the darkness away, bringing light to the world on each new day? Or do we let fear, separation and doubt fill our hearts, taking the message of Christmas away before it even starts. One small gesture – kind words or an invite, could it possibly change a heart that’s not right? Don’t underestimate the power of one, to light the way as this candle has done. 

Reader Two: We light these candles, because we, too, have seen a light, long, long ago in a manger on that first Christmas night. In the midst of the darkness a baby was born, to bring light to the world on that first Christmas morn. God sent His Son because He loves us so much, to show us the way, and our hearts He will touch. And now we are called to live as people of the light, spreading joy to the world, it will be such a sight! Away with the darkness, no more fear fills the air, because we know in our hearts that Jesus is there. 

Reader One: So as we light these candles, may it remind us well, that the light of the world is coming, and on the mountain we must tell! The candles of Hope, Joy, Love and Peace, lighted now, our circle’s complete. The last one we light in the center of it all, the sign of Christ’s presence among us, the Christ candle it’s called. No matter how dark at times it may seem, know that God’s light is with us, in radiant beams. (Light all four candles on the wreath and the Christ Candle in the Center) 

Reader Two: To those who have walked in darkness, may their hearts be changed, as we have seen a great light, Jesus his name. Glory to God in the highest we sing, and on earth let there be Love, as the Christmas bells ring

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS – Song with actions led by the children in the aisles.

RECORDED NARRATION #3

It was just then that the Grinch heard a knock at the door,
Who could it be, what was this disturbance for?!?
He scowled and growled as he rolled out of bed,
Shaking the fog from his ears that clogged up his head.
When what to his crooked and slanted old eyes did appear,
But a tiny little Who girl who seemed to have no fear.
Didn’t she know he was the meanest and grumpiest in town,
Who could scare any person with just a flicker of his frown?

What do you want, yelled the Grinch, you’re disturbing me!
But Cindy Lou Who just stood there, as happy as can be…
Hello sir, um, I’m Cindy Lou, and I’m not sure if you know,
But there’s a church called McEachern, down in Whoville below.
Each year on this day we have a Christmas Eve service so bright,
To celebrate the birth of the savior born this night.
It seems to me that your heart could use such a lift,
I was wondering if you’d join me to share in this gift.

Well the Grinch just howled, with a dark evil laugh,
Could she be serious – you do the math.
The Grinch goes to church with all the Who girls and boys,
To experience up close all the NOISE, NOISE, NOISE, NOISE!
No thank you, no way, I’m not going there, not for me
Then he paused for a moment, an idea he could see…
What better way to steal Christmas Eve forever,
Than to infiltrate the celebration, this plan’s coming together!

OK little Who, you’re quite convincing I must say,
Let me grab my coat and we’ll be on our way.
Cindy Lou Who smiled, as she’d done her best,
And she knew at the church, the Holy Spirit would do the rest.

MISSION MOMENT – Missions Dept. Lead with a hands-up blessing over the diapers and socks.

OFFERTORY – One Small Child duet by senior pastor and his Mrs. as Ambassadors received the offerings.

NARRATION #4 – Grinch tosses bags of colorful jumbo pom poms all over the audience as the disturbance.

As the Grinch sat in church amidst the Who girls and boys,
He felt a stirring inside him, just listening to this NOISE!
His heart began growing and filling the void,
Out with self-loathing – as in came JOY?
What’s happening to me, his head started reeling,
this is not going well, HELP ME, I’M FEELING!
I must act at once, my plan put to action,
I’m here to ruin Christmas Eve, not to find satisfaction.
OK, just think, what should I DO…
I know, I know – I’ll cause a disturbance for all of the Whos!

FAMILY PRAYER – The Grinch is quite upset. 

• When I’m upset, I know I can go to OUR GREAT GOD in prayer.
• Our Great God created us and loves to hear from us.
• Having something in my hands helps me when I pray.
• When my hands are busy, my mind is calm. 
• Collect and hold a pompom or two, or three, or more and gather with your family to pray together in your own family.

(2 minutes)

Every time an angel gave a message to God’s people, they always opened with “Do Not Be Afraid.”

• Let’s close our family prayer time together as one family in a repeat-after-me-prayer….
• Let’s learn more about the birthday story of Jesus from Lilly B. Who (youth)

CHRISTMAS READING RIGHT/LEFT STORY – read by a youth

A telling of the story of Christmas on Christmas Eve is a treasured tradition held dear to our hearts. While we love seeing fellow Whoville friends and experiencing the giving, the candle lighting, and the singing on Christmas Eve (oh the singing!) hearing the story of Jesus’ birth in a manger is our best reminder that Christmas, perhaps, means a WHOLE LOT more. 

Please join me in the reading of the Christmas story this year in the way of a Left/Right Story. Get out your candy canes, and as I read the story, pay attention to the words “Left” and “Right” – when you hear them, pass your candy cane from your left to right hand in the direction stated and keep listening for more directions as we go. If you don’t have your candy cane, please raise your right or left hand as we talk through the Christmas story.

(Do one practice instruction) – “Let’s try one practice round with this – there are no instructions LEFT, do you think you’ve got it RIGHT?”) And now,

The Story of Christmas!

A long time ago, a woman named Mary and a man named Joseph were going to be married. RIGHT before that happened, an angel came to Mary and told her she was going to have a baby! 

Before the angel LEFT, he said she should name the baby Jesus. The baby would be the Son of God, the Savior.

While Mary was pregnant, Caesar Augustus decided to count everyone LEFT living in the whole Roman world. Joseph LEFT, taking Mary with him  to his town of Bethlehem to register. No

one could be LEFT out of the census. 

The two weary travelers LEFT the dark, dusty road and entered the crowded town of Bethlehem. People bustled LEFT and scurried RIGHT past them, heading toward places of rest.

They had all LEFT their towns and villages and come to Bethlehem loaded down with bags and baskets in order to be registered and counted.  Mary was exhausted, and needed rest RIGHT away. The trip had been long and tiring, and Mary had no energy LEFT.

She waited patiently as Joseph looked LEFT and RIGHT in search of a place for them to stay, but after a while it became clear that there were no vacant rooms LEFT in town.  They settled on a stable RIGHT behind an inn. It was not what they had expected or wanted, but they were thankful for a place to lay their head.

It was RIGHT there in that cold stable, surrounded by animals and the smell of hay, that Mary gave birth to her child, a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth to keep him warm, and LEFT him to sleep on the hay.

PASTOR’S MESSAGE – Object lesson by pastor about the gift of Christmas with a star (Jesus is the light of the world) and a red heart (Jesus loves us so much.)

RECORDED NARRATION #5 – Cindy Lou takes Grinch’s hand and guides him to center manger where they linger and then depart.

And so it happened, on that fateful night,
Surrounded by Whos, what a wonderful sight!
The Grinches’ heart grew, three sizes they say,
As he learned the true meaning of Christmas that day.
Hearing about Baby Jesus had changed him, indeed,
He couldn’t ruin Christmas, at that he would never succeed.
It would come without ribbons, it would come without tags.
It would come without packages, boxes, or bags.
Maybe Christmas (he thought) doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Christmas perhaps means a WHOLE LOT more!

SILENT NIGHT – written for a guitar accompanist, our pastor played with same song leader who led 12 Days  of Christmas

CLOSING

• Christmas is about growing your heart three sizes!  
• And like Cindy Lou Who, sharing your heart for Jesus with others so that they too can experience the wonder and joy of Christmas. 
• Go tell it on the mountain – Mount Crumpet, Stone Mountain, Kennesaw Mountain, the Blueridge Mountains – EVERYWHERE!  
• Jesus Christ is born.
• I hope you found a squishy heart to take home as a reminder that Jesus loves you. What does the heart say? 
• Join us in our last song….. (SNOW!) but don’t go anywhere. Dr. Doug has a last word to share.

GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN ….. SNOW starts after the first verse.

BENEDICTION

What if two or three local churches hired a professional in ministry with children and families to ‘circuit ride’ for a year to two years among the two or three local churches?

Circuit riders were commonplace in the frontiers of America as communities began organizing formally. The circuit riders of the past were clergy. Most Christian educators today are lay people who love Jesus and love people; have history in their community. If ever the local church was in a season of pioneering the new frontiers of America today those frontiers would not be land, but rather minds, schedules, rhythms, relationships, and truth.

Goals

• Lead, model, and offer training support of leadership to provide a Sunday morning faith formation experience for children/families when most of that local church is on campus for critical mass.
• Provide marketing, promotion, training, resources, and tools to coach each of the two or three local churches to offer a shared experience to be rotated with individual local church flair in a small group formation mindset.
• Meet and train the local church leadership the most effective ways to partner with parents and grandparents in their community with life skill classes.
• Evaluate each of the two or three local churches to determine ‘What’s in your hand?’ to leverage for effective fruitfulness.
• Packaging and sharing events for intergenerational relationship-building.

Premise

I believe God has already equipped every local church with all the resources necessary to share the light and love of Christ in that community, but may need some coaching and modeling for ministry and growth as the local church looks differently as we ALL start over pioneering this new local church frontier.

Skills to consider

• A relationship-building networker in-person and online.
• Understands today’s family rhythms with the demands of work, school, and extracurricular activities.
• Nonjudgmental team-leading coach and teacher.
• Exudes the joy of the Lord.
• Christian hospitality.
• Experienced innovator or innovation broker.
• Someone who starts and finishes stuff and communicates well along the way.
• Experienced recruiter
• Ability to ask good questions, prioritize schedule, and a sense of urgency to connect littles with bigs who love Jesus.

What it could look like

• Start with table conversations of each local church with conversational surveys.
• Dashboard research of ‘what’s in your hand’ and ‘what’s in each church’s area’.
• Plan an 18-month calendar of special Sundays (to build energy; ignite traction; lay out next steps for each family event). The first event could be rolled out in 30 days.
• Combine financial resources between the two or three local churches, along with grants, to roll out a quarterly special community event which would be rotated, with a specific-church-bent, among the two or three.
• The two or three local churches provide the financial support to compensate the FX (Faith Experience) Director/Coordinator in salary/stipend and supply acquisition. 
• Systems for security, safety, budget, curriculum, schedules, mission, would be implemented as shared and common best practices.

What if two or three smaller local churches came together to share the expenses of hiring a called, professional Christian educator with children and families to ‘circuit ride’ for a year to two years among the two or three local churches in relatively close proximity? The learning curve to secure a staff member to reliably serve part-time who comes with the skills of recruiting, marketing, evaluating, and the drive to independently learn on their own what’s developmentally appropriate for multi-age children is a winding, steep curve and takes years. Within a year to 18 months, this person might coach and lead a team at each local church ready to take the next step into ministry development to see what could be done with what they have and where they have it better together.

What if?

“What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.” 1 Corinthians 14:26

It’s been a bit and I’ve missed the faces of my ministry friends from around the country, so I set up two zoom calls. One for Advent ideation and another for Innovation into 2022. So many great ideas were shared, but here are a few of my own takeaways:

Advent Ideation

• Don’t just prepare for Christmas, but be intentional about those two weekends following with a Blessing of the Toys, a cereal bar, a Pancakes & Pajamas, or other such special experience.
• Use November and not wait for December for Advent.
• Prioritize the one thing which will have the biggest bang for your buck and throw your greatest creative energies and budget at that.
• Address Christmas cards with a nativity image now (November) to your families. Ask a church saint with beautiful handwriting to hand write the addresses on envelopes, get the cards signed by the clergy/church leaders, yourself, or kidmin team. Stamp now to be ready to mail the first week of December. Personal touches at Christmas are powerful.
• Offer at-home popup advent calendars for church families and a small take-home for preschool/recreation ministry families to hint what can be shared if they come to church. We want folks to come to children’s ministry programming, so don’t give away the whole thing of what you share at church. Giving them a cut out star or birthday candle is easier on the budget and can be prepped now (November).
• Nativity is the priority. Keep all things pointed to Jesus. It’s CHRIST-mas….much about Christ.
• Go ahead and give your servant/leaders/volunteers a schedule of what’s coming up for Advent. They want to be there and though they might not sign up early, they need to know early to move some pieces of life around to make things work.
• Advent is for you and your family, too. Build in margin for your own family to celebrate Advent. Pre-set priorities now for you and your family’s calendar and budget. 

Innovation into 2022 – The ZOOM Call Rules: No mention of VBS or Sunday school referring instead to ‘Sunday morning’ or season of faith formation experience.

Facts to consider:

• Families are looking for experiences over stuff.
• Faith formation on other days of the week offer greater relevance to those with work rhythms where Sunday is a work-day.
• Parents are asking for help with life skills.

Ideas:

• Kids have grown and look different than last we saw them. One church made a grade-level church directory to use to pray over the children followed by notes home which read, “Your name was on my lips when I talked to God this morning.” Start with your oldest in your ministry since your remaining time with them is shorter.
• Hospitality on the front end is what we’re good at. Evaluate the last experience and intentional hospitality on the back end with an edited dismissal, a Chapstick or oil-roller blessing on the back of the hand, a free-time-to-chat-to-build-relationship experience, greeters with smiling resting faces at the end of a service and not just the beginning.
• Parents and grandparents receive online newsletters and calendars, but kids love mail and get very little. Mail a monthly paper newsletter specific to youngers and another specific to olders with dates for upcoming events, but also riddles and easy faith formation experiences to do at home. This is the stuff which makes the refrigerator or family bulletin board. Rather than monthly, I’ll be looking at doing this quarterly.
• Go in for the big asks: money, space, calendar, resources, budget. You might get a ‘no’, but it’s only the first ‘no’. Keep sharing the vision for reaching families where they are. Build in room for negotiation by going in large.

• When a person leads a small group or Bible study, they also agree to recruit from their circle of relationships OUTSIDE the church to participate. Promoting in the bulletin won’t reach new people like the circle of friends a leader already has outside the church. Co-lead with that person to take care of promoting inside the church as well as offer any administrative and follow-up support. Model what you want from your leaders.
• Tap into the faith formation skills and experiences of Christian grandparents in the church. These are the untapped volunteers to hand-address Christmas cards, birthday postcards, pour hot apple cider, serve at the Eggo waffle station on time-change Sunday, be present for hospitality at the beginning and the end of, and transport their grand to/from children’s activities/events at church.  

How does Advent look differently for you? What are you hoping for in 2022? The seasons are on top of each other. Carve out a bit of ‘balcony time’ for each (looking from above at the greater picture) then put on something sparkly, pick up a medicine-ball tea from Starbucks, and let’s get this advent and new year party started. How can I help?

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

We’ve had many new families come to our local church for lots of faith formation experiences on weekends and just about every day of the week. Many come from no or other faith traditions. This makes for awkward moments almost every week in worship. We desire to invite them to worship as the next step, but it can be a leap of faith for new families. We want to make it easier. Learning something new together with those we love is always a good and better thing. 

Our leadership has joined Children’s Ministry to provide space for a teaching service for kids with adults in the room in our regular worship space at our traditional 11am service. I’m beside myself in joy and shaking in my boots all at the same time. 

Elements of the teaching service has been to form a family worship team with clear goals, provide a dress rehearsal the Wednesday prior with dinner together, and a teaching through the alphabet to prepare ourselves for worship before the service even begins.

ABCs of Worship
Faith Milestone: I Can Worship With My Family

A –    Arrive early.
Arrive in time to find a good place to sit. Sitting near the front of the Sanctuary will give littles a better view of the chancel (stage front) area.

B –     Bring colored pencils or crayons.
These tools can be used for coloring or taking notes. When our hands are busy, our minds are calm.

C –     Clue in children to what will happen next in the service.
Children who can read will want to go over the Bulletin and find hymns (songs) in the hymnal (song book.) They like to be prepared.

D –     Discuss worship at home.
Discussion ahead of time gives time to ask questions and get answers about worship.

E –     Express joy to have children in worship.
Be sure to welcome the children sitting near you. Include them in your conversations before and after worship to let them know they belong.

F –     Free yourself from worry about children’s behavior.
We are a family and need to hear the sounds of children in our family.

G –    Gonna want to be in church.
Disciples of Jesus gather weekly to celebrate God’s goodness and God’s faithfulness together. You don’t want to miss this!

H –     Have your offering ready.
We will follow the children’s lead to walk forward to give our tithes and offerings at the end of the service. Movement in the service is good for everybody.

I –      Include the babies.
We love babies! A loving nursery is available for families with littles under 4yo if this works best for your family.

J –     Jesus
Jesus came for everybody!

K –    Keep an eye out for guests.
Making space for new friends is the first step of sharing the love of Jesus in an act of hospitality.

L –    Look around the Sanctuary when you arrive.
Give vocabulary to special spaces and places like crosses, pews, choir loft, chancel area, organ, piano, baptismal font, paraments, colors, aisles, narthex, acolytes, and more.

M –    Make a joyful noise.
Sing and do the motions to the music even if you don’t know the songs. Let the children see worship modeled by the best worshippers ever!

N –     Names are important.
Tell the children your name and ask them theirs.

O –    Open your Bible. 
Show children where to find God’s truth. Children learn best to read God’s word by spending time with people who read God’s word from God’s word.

P –     Prepare for Sunday on Saturday.
Church on Sunday starts on Saturday. Lay out your clothes, get your Bible, find your shoes, your keys, and prepare your offering the night before.

Q –    Quarters can make a difference.
We’ve made plans for a noisy offering. Bring your quarters and help us make some noise at the end of the service.

R –     Rejoice in the Lord!
Children learn best how to worship Jesus by spending time with people who worship Jesus. Come and show them how it’s done with great joy and gladness. Show us your smile!

S –     Stay a little longer.
Don’t’ rush off when service is over. Linger a bit to meet three new friends-in-the-Lord. Talk to littles and bigs in the Sanctuary, the stairway, and the parking lot.

T –    Treat children as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Children who choose Jesus as their Savior and Lord are full members of the family of God. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them.”

U –     Understand that everyone learns to worship our great God better together.
Lord, let me always be ready to learn something new to follow You more closely.

V –     Visit the Sanctuary.
Look at all the colors, flowers, decorations, and visual elements which add to the worship experience.

W –    Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!
Stand, wiggle, and move to the music or whenever you just need to move. This applies to littles AND bigs.

X –     Exit when you feel necessary.
There is no judgment if you or your littles need to step out for a bit, but be sure to come back. Practicing new skills always take grace and time.

Y –     You are your child’s best spiritual leaders.
Be a positive role model of a follower of Jesus everywhere you go with all of your actions, words, facial expressions, and presence.

Z –     Zeal means eagerness, passion, devotion, excitement, inspiration, warmth, enthusiasm.
Bring your zeal for Jesus with you. “My zeal wears me out.” Psalm 119:139a

The Faith Milestone: I Can Worship With My Family will take place on Sunday, October 31 at 11am in our traditional Sanctuary with traditional elements and engage all five senses, led by littles and bigs, and not everything happens on the stage. These ABCs are being shared on social media separately each day with a short version printed on the back of the bulletin prepared with child art.

It’s Fall Break in the school systems of North Georgia. While others are headed out of town or enjoying a staycation, it’s the week I set aside to get organized for the fall and advent season. Everything was calendared months ago, published on July 1st. Now it’s time to put some details on the Advent google docs to be shared with the lead teams for each event and campaign when they return.

Parenting With A Purpose – with a focus on Apologetics (giving God our minds to defend our faith in Jesus) we will share a Blueprint for Discipleship at Home for the fall and a teaching of what God teaches us about work in a world that only wants to play for the spring.

Grandparenting With A Purpose – with a focus on engaging in sacred conversations we’ll have a table chat in both the fall and spring with other grandparents who have navigated the hardest conversations with their grands.

New Faith Milestones
I Can Tell the Story (one for Advent, one for Lent) which will be Messy Church events using images to tell the birth story of Jesus and the resurrection story of Jesus. For Advent: soup & bread, activity themes from Matt Rawle’s new advent study, The Heart That Grew Three Sizes: Finding Faith in the Story of the Grinch. It’s a post-pandemic look at the Grinch taking the redemption story to a whole new level. The adult videos, only around 10 minutes in length are so rich I was able to write the Children’s Moments, the event stations, and a lot of the Christmas Eve service from Rev. Rawle’s materials speaking of phrases kids get like hate, words and people redeemed by Jesus, truth vs lying, and the power of music and memory.

I Can Worship With My Family – interactive, intergenerational worship service for kids with adults in the room. We bring our teaching services from the summer parking lot to Big Mac (the sanctuary). It’s a teaching service at 11am in Big Mac for worship, prayer, giving, singing, Apostle’s Creed, doxology and more when the whole family learns together why we do what we do and what makes Big Mac, Big Mac. Opening a registration link for kids and families who want to take a lead lets us communicate expectations to families and not just kids. Clarity and communication builds trust. All of the other Faith Milestones we teach separately will be now be lived out in community with our church family, not only the Children’s spaces.

Part of that organization is also getting some shopping done so the resources are on hand and we’re not scrambling hoping to find what we need.  The complete details are not on the google doc yet, but today I placed orders for….
Advent Blocks (purchased in summer at deep discount/added another church to order for even more discounts)
Red squishy hearts imprinted with “Jesus loves me”
Red, green, white, lime chenille sticks
What the Bible Is All About Handbook for Kids
Discipling Your Grandchildren: Great Ideas to Help Them Know, Love and Serve God
Prayer buddies in pompoms
God Is Three Persons
Family Advent Pop-up Calendar

Let’s not forget to be clear of the goals and the why of each experience. Every experience must be a developmentally appropriate faith formation experience. Ministry leaders are not event planners, but disciple-makers who take every opportunity and effectively use what’s in our hands to give testimony to God’s goodness and His faithfulness to His people. Determine when, where, how, who, and the discipleship follow-up for sharing the good news of Jesus and His plan of redemption and restoration in truth as the priority not the add-on or side-note. Write it down so not to be distracted by a negative comment or an expectation expressed after-the-fact. Measurable goals offer clarity, purpose, and let you set priorities to filter the could-haves and should-haves. The experience is part of your over-all strategy for faith formation, not a one-and-done.

Partnering with families means they can trust that we will be prepared to be a blessing as their calendar begins to turn into fall. Partnering well with our leadership team means they will not be overwhelmed and will have on hand the tools to be successful.

How do you get organized for the next season?

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart and be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

My current pastor gently corrected a colleague recently when she referred to our servant-leaders as ‘volunteers.’ PTA recruits volunteers. We recruit servant-leaders.  Most of my conversations with colleagues at other churches revolve around building their servant-leader team. Anyone else feel like a new church start? Yep, we all do!

I had a great conversation with a new-to-director Children’s Ministry champion last week and we chatted through several ideas:

Open House – Invite all kids and their parents/grandparents to a 30 minute open house after a Sunday service. Build it up, think sandwich boards worn by kids to promote. Post jumbo post-its on the walls in the kid’s area with “Sunday Morning”, “Hospitality”, “CLUB345”, “Missions”, and “Special Events” with cups of crayons below each one. Pull a Vanna White sharing a 1 minute elevator pitch in front of each one inviting those in attendance, “If you’d like more information about >>>, write your name and email/phone number on this post-it note (their choice for how to be contacted), and our team will get back to you.” Every 10 minutes, play a game of rock, paper, scissors for prizes OR pull carnival tickets for $5 RaceTrac/QT gift cards for tasty beverages. Prizes for kids AND adults in attendance. End in a fun interactive prayer and make those phone calls by week’s end.  Lots of energy, music (bluetooth speaker, even), and have your kid’s space shine!

Chill & Chat  or Taco ‘Bout – Promote this 1.5-2 hour event as a time to ‘get more information’ about the church’s ministry with kids/families.  Put up the jumbo post-it notes with similar headings as above and offer  a similar 1 minute elevator pitch followed by inviting someone in the room to share a story about their experience in that area. Lots of other voices will be telling great stories. Offer a take-away book with some meat to it that speaks to how the ministry will support them as parents, grandparents, etc.. Your current servant-leaders are your best recruiters so give time for some general chatting. Follow up with thank you notes to everyone who attends and especially those who shared a story. Offer a tour of the spaces, too. I have Ambassadors take care of this part. This is also where parents/grandparents get the first-look at what’s coming in the ministry for the upcoming season or school year.

Mission Field – Bring a suitcase and visit an adult Sunday school class. Say, “This is what I know about you. As a Christian you always wanted to be a missionary.  But you had to work, had little people, or maybe were taking care of big people. Perhaps now is the time. What if I were to offer you a 1-year gig (big hairy ask!) and you wouldn’t have to take shots and you could sleep in your own bed? Would you consider it? Being a missionary, I mean?” Give pause. Say, “I’m asking you and a friend to serve as a missionary, one month on and one month off, to serve in the mission field of children’s ministry on Sunday morning for 1 year.”  “I ask for you and a friend because Jesus never sent our his disciples one at a time, but in pairs or threes or up to 70 to do what He asked, and He asks in the scriptures for us to lead the littles to Him.” Oh, and come bearing goodies by bringing a box of biscuits or donuts along with the suitcase.

Church Committee Meetings – Find out when the Trustees, Staff-Parish Relations, and Finance Committees are meeting next. Leave a box of yummy goodies, a bowl of ice, cold water bottles, you get the idea. Add a note or picture signed by kids in your ministry inviting one (and a friend…see above) to serve together at an upcoming event, or say THANK YOU for making the ministry possible by the decisions they make. It will delight them to know you appreciate their hard work of ministry, too.

Lord, Who? Prayers – Write Lord, who? on your car windshield with a sharpie and as you drive pray for a name to reach out one-on-one. One-on-one invites are the best and really should be done all the time.  Whoever the Lord gives you, make contact. Don’t’ talk yourself out of it. You never know how the Lord is working in that person’s life and they are just waiting for the invite to do something about it.

Youth Milestone – If you have access to your church’s youth group, make serving in Children’s Ministry a faith milestone of one month on and one month off for a year. Make them jump through the hoops necessary for training and equipping so they are aware of the expectations to be a great servant-leader. This is first-job training kind of stuff. Talk to them about what they’re doing well. You can talk to them about how they can do something better. Speak into their lives the opportunity to serve others well and with excellence and be sure to tell them WHY something is important. Remind them they’ll need reference letters for jobs and college program applications in the future and you can help them with that.

Faith Milestones and Grandparents – Faith Milestones are those once a year special events which mark a remarkable season of life with a spiritual training like Bread & Juice, I Can Pray, Acolyte, I Love My Church and the like. We require our students to have an adult with them at most Faith Milestones. If that adult is a grandparent, that grandparent is all-in to support and join in sharing sacred experiences. I will always reach out the next week to invite him/her to serve at something their grand might participate in.

“We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” Romans 12:5

Everything I’ve ever done effectively has been within the community of a small group. From the local PTA to Bible study to my accountability group, I’m a better wife, mother, employee, coach, citizen, disciple of Jesus because of the efforts of sharing life in small groups. This is beyond chatting around a table. I’m talking REALLY sharing a season of life as friends-in-the-Lord or people-in-community-with-a-shared-goal. Though Jesus started the gospel of Matthew with a large group at the Sermon on the Mount, it’s what was discussed and wrestled to the ground in small group that made the content come to life, over time.

The most recent research coming out is telling us that the days of stadium preaching the gospel is giving way to sharing the gospel life in small groups. We can get great preaching and teaching beyond the 11am Sunday sanctuary ‘in our hands’ and ‘in our earbuds’, but small groups in our backyards, front porches, and parking lots is going to be the place to be for the local church’s message of the gospel to be effective as invitational, hospitable, relational, and necessary to grow in Godly wisdom and pass on our faith in Christ. It may be old school, but the local churches doing it well with systems and pre-discipleship will be schooling the ones who don’t.

I’m not responsible for small groups in my local church. I’m not even on the team that gets to have those conversations. So what can I do knowing a healthy small group system is effective ministry in my local church? I can have face-to-face conversations in the hallway, at the lunch table, and online before-hand. I toss out ideas and start conversations and ask questions. I’m interested in how others are keeping their minds on Jesus. I pray the Lord will let me show interest in how others are ‘small grouping’ in their context and within my own local church. I consider this pre-discipleship.

Pre-discipleship is walking directly into the obstacles and hurdles that stand in the way of the disciples of Jesus who want to grow in their faith in community, but are unable to because they’ve already decided their family commitments by the time we tell them what we’re doing.  Just because we announce it won’t make it a win. Christianity is fundamentally a text-based religion based on an historical event: Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Everything else we wrestle with, think about, discuss, practice, respond, experiment in devotional practices so that we grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man in community guided by the Holy Spirit. Yeah, but how do we fit it all in?

James Bryan Smith writes in The Good and Beautiful Life, “We live at the mercy of what we think about. What we think, determines how we live.” My families have way too much consuming their minds, but we can help if we prepare the way in pre-discipleship. Recalling the Bible account of the boy and his lunch feeding the 5,000 by the hands of Jesus, it was the boy’s Mama who prepared the way by making his lunch that morning.

Okay, enough about the why and the fruitfulness. Here are a few thoughts on how to keep the pre-discipleship conversations going….

Make it convenient – Think of ten people you’d like to know better and begin asking, “Hey, I’d like to spend more time getting to know you. If you were to be in a small group this fall, are days or evenings more convenient for you? I’m not asking you for a commitment right now, just trying to figure out what is the best timing for you.”

Make it relevant – What’s happening right now?

1.  The Chosen TV series – This series is free on my phone with The Chosen app, I can throw it on my Roku tv for the family from my phone, and Season 1 is on DVD. For those folks who don’t like that it’s not ‘true to the Bible’ in every scene, remember that it’s not a documentary. But IT WILL start some great conversations with anybody no matter where they are on their journey. It’s a great story! Our culture is made up of image-driven beings and we can use this well-done resource for some powerful conversations. They’ve put out an interactive Bible study on season 1 which has some great discussion questions. In the words of one of my local church saints, “Three good discussion questions make for a fabulous small group.” Families could watch the episode on their own, then come together for sacred conversation.  Intergenerational conversations. Another local church I know is doing this and rotating homes, locations, for a summer ‘pop-in’ small group. This could easily be rolled out church-wide.
2. Current sermon series – If your clergy team provides a sermon series, it’s low-hanging fruit to pull the livestream section from the YouTube channel and provide three good discussion questions on both social media and in-person. It’ll get the whole church talking about the series. Kidmin champions can locate an already-done-well video clip to make the content more developmentally appropriate for the littles and again, easy inclusion for intergenerational sacred conversations and makes mom and dad or grandparents the best sacred coaches.
3. Think of an August or September start up to the time change for your season. When the time changes, it’s dark earlier and it takes everyone longer to get from point A to point B. I live in the Greater Atlanta area so factoring in time and traffic are constant considerations.

Make it a partnership for a season – Plan to co-lead a small group. You’ll make a new friend or enjoy a deeper friendship with an old friend. Then, don’t take over! Be a full-on participant, but with keys. Count to 10 before you jump in. Listen a lot. Ask more questions than make statements. Support the small group by making room reservations and promoting it like you’re recruiting for VBS. I’ve discovered that when people are personally invited to be in your small group, your small group will either have enough to make OR you’ll learn why it won’t (inconvenient day/time, too long, too short, the subject matter isn’t relevant right now no matter how good the material is.)

With post-COVID culture, I’ve pulled out Chris Surratt’s Small Groups For The Rest Of Us: How to design your small-groups system to reach the fringes from Next Leadership Network. If ever there was a time to reach the fringes, it’s now.

“Everyone needs community, and we have to make it easy for them to find it.” – Chris Surratt, Small Groups For the Rest of Us